Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Brilliant musical theater scores wrapped in questionable premises: The quest to fix CHESS and THE BAKER’S WIFE continues

• By drediman
• November 17, 2025
• No Comments

Two of this fall’s biggest theater stories are the return of Chess and The Baker’s Wife, two musicals that notoriously flopped in their maiden outings. The reason they have endured is due to their respective brilliant scores, despite being wrapped in questionable premises. Read on below to see if the current revivals have managed to fix the book problems that have plagued these wildly uneven musicals over the years.

THE BAKER’S WIFE
Classic Stage Company
Through December 21

There are only a few musicals in the canon that I haven’t had a chance to see performed live. One of those is Stephen Schwartz’s The Baker’s Wife, which is currently enjoying a starry Off-Broadway revival (RECOMMENDED) courtesy of Classic Stage Company led by Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose in the title role. First and foremost, the score sounds absolutely delectable, even with the production’s truncated orchestrations, which have been tastefully downscaled by David Cullen (the chance to hear the ubiquitous cabaret favorite “Meadowlark” within the context of the show is a particular treat). That being said, the book problems still remain in this musical about a woman who strays from the path, leaving her kind, older husband (the baker Aimable) for a sexy buy shallow younger man. To be sure, the cartoonish depiction of a quaint French village sits awkwardly with the musical’s central topic of adultery, itself a bizarre subject for a mainstream musical. Even if her performance at times leans towards the blander side, Debose provides substantial star power and is surrounded by a stacked cast of stage veterans. Not surprisingly, she sings (her rendition of “Meadowlark” is at once contemporary and classic) and moves beautifully, even if her character all but disappears in the second act. Perhaps best of all are the grounded and affecting performances being delivered by Scott Bakula, Judy Kuhn, and Sally Murphy. The company is rounded out by sensational character actors like Arnie Burton, Kevin Del Aguila, and Nathan Lee Graham, whose portrayals all pop deliciously. Director Gordon Greenberg’s immersive and charming staging — which envelops the audience (kudos to Jason Sherwood’s environmental set design) — brings out the warmth and humanity in the broadly written show.

CHESS
Imperial Theatre
Open run

Then there’s the highly anticipated Main Stem revival of Chess (RECOMMENDED) at the Imperial Theatre. To say that the musical has had a checkered past would be a dire understatement. With a book that’s been tampered over the years with more than Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, the musical at its core depicts a love triangle that unfolds against the backdrop of Cold War chess matches. This latest iteration by Danny Strong infuses the piece with meta-theatrical framing device, often pointing to its own ridiculousness and flaws — in my mind a lazy tactic — primarily by expanding the role of the Arbiter to that of the show’s narrator (a game, hard-working Bryce Pinkham). Strong’s new book also heightens the global political stakes of the chess matches to an absurd degree, which further muddles the musical rather than bringing focus to it. Like The Baker’s Wife, Chess’s continuing appeal and fascination lies in Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’s extraordinary score, a bombastic mix of Broadway power ballads, classical music, and heavily synthesized pop stylings. Luckily, you’re probably not going to hear a better sounding Chess than the one blaring at the Imperial, which is being headlined by the trio of Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit, and Nicholas Christopher. All three sing gloriously, particularly the chameleonic Christopher, whose stunning star-making performance as the conflicted Russian chess champion will likely catapult him into the upper echelon of musical theater performers. Michael Mayer’s efficient staging has the look and feel of an Encores! production, complete with a large onstage orchestra, minimal sets comprised of platforms and stairs, and star-studded casting. Perhaps one of the more successful new elements of the production is the thrilling choreography by Lorin Latarro, which borrows heavily from contemporary dance in its effort to bring kineticism to what is essentially a static game.